1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image input and output apparatus such as a facsimile machine or multifunction printer.
2. Description of the Related Art
Image input and output apparatus of this type includes a scanner for scanning a document placed on or fed into the apparatus, and image processing and transmission circuitry for encoding the image data output from the scanner and transmitting the encoded data to a distant location as a facsimile image or by electronic mail. When electronic mail is used, the image data are transmitted as an attached image file. When the image input and output apparatus is a multifunction printer, the transmission may be routed through a host computer connected to the printer.
Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2001-320542 discloses an image input and output apparatus (an image processor) that can automatically transmit a scanned document to a distant party identified by information placed at, for example, the top of the document. The apparatus has character recognition means for recognizing character information in the scanned document, and a controller. The controller determines, from the content of the recognized character information and its position in the document, whether the information represents a facsimile number or electronic mail address, and initiates the appropriate type of transmission, so that the user does not have to enter the number or address by hand. The controller may also be able to recognize a postal address and use it as a key to retrieve a facsimile number from a database.
A disadvantage of this scheme is the requirement for documents to be formatted with the destination facsimile number or electronic mail address in a predetermined position. The use of optical character recognition, which is expensive and unreliable, is also a disadvantage.
It would be desirable to have a less expensive and more convenient and reliable way to acquire destination information from a document.